Cbs Drama

Gibson downsizes: Oscar winner Mel Gibson is looking to become a lethal weapon producing for the small screen. His Icon Productions has lined up an ABC family comedy and a CBS drama and is in the early stages on shows for two other networks. The actor-director recently secured Newmarket Films as the domestic distributor for his movie "The Passion of Christ."

"Damages" and "White Queen" actress Janet McTeer will star in " Battle Creek ," the CBS drama series from "Breaking Bad's" Vince Gilligan and "House's" David Shore. The Oscar nominee joins Kal Penn in the crime drama that follows a detective and an FBI agent from different worlds who have to see if cynicism, guile and deception are enough to clean up the semi-mean streets of Battle Creek, MI. Gilligan and Shore are exec producing with Mark...

Steppenwolf Theatre said Wednesday that the actress Julianna Margulies will be the guest of honor of its annual Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon. The star of "The Good Wife" (a CBS drama set, but not filmed, in Chicago) will be interviewed by Steppenwolf artistic director Martha Lavey about her career. The event is slated for March 12 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St.

Morgan Freeman's Revelations Entertainment has cast his "Deep Impact" costar Tea Leoni to play the Secretary of State in its CBS drama pilot, " Madam Secretary ," the network announced today. The drama about a maverick female Secretary of State dealing with international diplomacy, office politics and a complex family life comes via executive producer and scribe Barbara Hall ("Judging Amy," "Joan Of Arcadia"). CBSTVS is producing, along with...

Fox's two-hour "American Idol" dominated Wednesday's ratings race on a night that also saw good numbers for CBS dramas "CSI" and "Criminal Minds. " NBC got a boost from the premiere of hidden-camera series "Off Their Rockers," which hit nearly three-month demo high for its timeslot. According to preliminary nationals from Nielsen, "American Idol" (4.7/14 in 18-49, 16.7 million viewers overall) was down some week to week but still comfortably...

- Why did Terry Farrell leave "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"? I enjoyed her and the character she played. The way she explains it, it was a matter of her contract expiring and her wanting to do something different, even if that meant just sleeping in late. As it turned out, she didn't have much time for that. As she was wrapping up her work as Jadzia Dax on the syndicated "Deep Space Nine" -- which will end its run next month -- she received the pilot script for Ted...

Steppenwolf Theatre said Wednesday that the actress Julianna Margulies will be the guest of honor of its annual Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon. The star of "The Good Wife" (a CBS drama set, but not filmed, in Chicago) will be interviewed by Steppenwolf artistic director Martha Lavey about her career. The event is slated for March 12 at the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph St.

Members of the Writers Guild of America returned to work Wednesday after voting to end their strike on its 100th day, jump-starting production of numerous TV sitcoms and dramas. "It will be all hands on deck for the writing staff," said Chris Mundy, co-executive producer of the CBS drama "Criminal Minds." Actual production won't begin, however, until scripts have been completed, which could take days or even weeks. The writers decided overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike,...

Leon Carroll, Jr., born and raised on Chicago's South Side, knows that the secret of "NCIS" is a simple one: Words. The top-rated CBS drama about the real-life Naval Criminal Investigative Service is one of the best-written shows on television, employing crisp, clever dialogue to drive its compellingly topical plots. The episode airing Tuesday, March 22, at 7 pm on Channel 2 is a special one for Carroll the show's technical advisor. He came up with the storyline, in which NCIS...

"Wiseguy," the CBS drama about an undercover agent who has infiltrated the ranks of organized crime, moves out of phase one of the new season with a two-parter at 8 p.m. Thursday night on Channel 2. Part two, which will air next Thursday, will conclude the cycle of stories about the Sonny Steelgrave mob. In the opener, Sonny (Ray Sharkey) shows his vulnerable side when he confides to Vinnie his yearning for marriage and a family, and Vinnie begins to rethink his...

'Eleventh Hour' best of the bunch Midway through "Eleventh Hour" (9 p.m. Thursday, WBBM-Ch. 2), one character cautions another about the risks of human cloning. "We're only talking viability here," he warns. "Nobody's talking perfection." Thank you, sir, for summing up the fall TV season, where the operating philosophy appears to be, "Don't aim high -- it would set a dangerous precedent." That statement describes CBS' approach particularly well. After breaking out of...

Premiering at 7 p.m. Sunday, the new WB drama "D.C." focuses on several young adults trying to make their pro marks in the nation's capital. Here's a quiz on other series that have been set in Washington, D.C.: QUESTIONS 1) A 1970-71 NBC sitcom starred Renne Jarrett as the president's daughter. What was the name of the show (also the character's name)? 2) In the 1978-79 NBC show "Grandpa Goes to Washington," who played "Grandpa," a newly elected senator? 3)...

CBS' primetime lineup is loaded with police dramas in which drops of DNA, bits of hair or fibers and other tiny clues are used to crack cases. Not so with "The Mentalist," says star Simon Baker. CBS is going low-tech. "On this show, we're trying to focus on finding the truth in the fabric of human nature," Baker said. Baker's character, Patrick Jane, will be the seeker of the truth. Jane worked as a fake psychic before a tragedy turned him from celebrity to sleuth. Jane...

CBS drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is officially the nation's favorite program, while CBS is once again the most popular network. CBS averaged 12.5 million viewers in prime time this season, up 2 percent from last year, according to Nielsen Media Research ratings through Sunday. NBC was second with 11.7 million, a 14 percent drop. ABC was third with 10 million and Fox fourth with 9.8 million, both increases. It was the first season "CSI" has been the nation's most popular...

Members of the Writers Guild of America returned to work Wednesday after voting to end their strike on its 100th day, jump-starting production of numerous TV sitcoms and dramas. "It will be all hands on deck for the writing staff," said Chris Mundy, co-executive producer of the CBS drama "Criminal Minds." Actual production won't begin, however, until scripts have been completed, which could take days or even weeks. The writers decided overwhelmingly in favor of ending the strike,...

- Can you tell me whether the lead actor on the series "Coach" was Craig T. Nelson or Ken Howard? It was Nelson, who won an Emmy for his portrayal of Hayden Fox on the ABC comedy. Ken Howard was also a TV coach, but on another series. He starred in the CBS drama "The White Shadow." Nelson can currently be seen Saturday nights as the top cop in Washington, D.C., in the new CBS drama "The District." - What was the name of the show that Ted Danson did with his...

- What has Simon Cowell done to deserve his place on "American Idol" as a celebrity? Where does he come from? --Nancy Gibault, Dundalk, Md. It isn't so much what the London, England, native has done to deserve celebrity -- an inevitable result of the enormous success of the Fox show -- but what he has done to deserve his spot as a judge of talent, and that's easy to answer. Well before attaining such public fame, Cowell was -- and still is -- a prominent executive with BMG Records, for which artists he has overseen...

-- What's John Ritter doing these days? It's true that the longtime TV staple hasn't been seen all that much lately, except for his appearances in a couple of "NewsRadio" episodes and a "Wings" installment, as well as last week's Academy of Television Hall of Fame special on CBS (on which he saluted inductee Dick Van Dyke). However, Ritter will have a showcase role again -- though a very uncharacteristic one for him -- in next Tuesday's (April 30) CBS drama...

1. Good one, good one Apparently somebody already has leaked "Star Wars: Episode III" online. Not that that would beat the experience of hearing the "I heard Anakin is Darth Vader" crack about 10 million times. 2. With apologies to Jeff Foxworthy Sad observation: Half the guys headed into the theater brought a toy lightsaber as their movie date. 3. All righty then Yoda line that had different meanings for different people: "Good relations with the...